Light On
by mybrowneyes
Summary: A Chapter from "Ranger comes Bearing Gifts." He was away and Stephanie leaves a light on to light his way.


_Belong to JE which I'm borrowing. When I hear 'Light On' I think of my favorite man in black coming back from 'in the wind'._

_**Light On**_

A Chapter from 'Ranger Comes Bearing Gifts'

Ranger leaned back into his first class leather seat. He was going home. Home now was actually Stephanie's Stucco duplex these last few months. He actually got along with Oliver, her grey and white cat, and didn't drop him out a bedroom window.

He converted the smallest of the three bedrooms into an office. They painted the walls a warm khaki and Ranger selected a cherry wood computer desk and credenza for in front of the window. The windows were updated with bullet proof glass. Stephanie made that concession.

In a corner of the basement, he moved in weights and a work out bench for a home gym area. Ranger hung a punching bag from a beam. Both rooms worked out for them.

He had been gone for two weeks in D.C. assisting with a new anti-terrorism training division in which he was lending his expertise to its development.

He and Stephanie talked first thing in the morning and every night before bed. He was anxious to get home. Christmas was in two weeks. Right before he got called they bought a very real looking artificial tree, no live one with Oliver, to fit under the nine foot ceiling. Stephanie was waiting for Ranger to come home to decorate the tree.

If Ranger helped with the development of the training program of new operatives, the government would consider his contract fulfilled six months early with a no-renewal option. He jumped at the chance. After many long hours, the groundwork was complete. All he wanted now was to see Stephanie's blue eyes, take in the scent of her strawberry hair, and hold her in his lonely arms for the rest of the night.

Each night after they told each other 'I love you', Stephanie ended the call with "I'll leave the light on for you."

Snow was falling. Big, fluffy flakes fluttering to the ground out of the dark night sky. The weather had delayed the arrival of his plane into Philadelphia and it was after Midnight when it finally landed. It was the closest airport he could get a flight into on such short notice or driving. He was tired after the long day and didn't want the drive in this weather.

He found a cab driver who was willing to make the trek to Trenton and the two hundreds he waved for a tip helped immensely. He settled in the backseat with his bag. Ranger wanted to surprise Stephanie, he was home actually two days early and they could decorate the Christmas tree waiting to be adorned with lights and colored ornaments.

He directed the cab driver when they made it to Trenton. Turning the corner onto Rosewood and seeing the Stucco house. Even through the snowflakes falling more heavily, he saw it. There in the arched window of their bedroom, Stephanie had a small candle lamp glowing. The light waiting for Ranger. He could make out the silhouette of the cat next to it. She told him Oliver watched out the window for him.

"Thank you and Merry Christmas. Drive carefully," Ranger told the driver handing him the fair and an extra hundred dollars on top of the two which were his tip.

The house was silent when he stepped in the entry and reset the security system. Ranger noticed the wreaths hanging in the front window and on the red door. Garland and plaid ribbon wrapped the railing leading to the porch. He slipped off his shoes leaving them on the small rug by the door. Looking through the archway, there was the Christmas in front of the large side window Ranger and Stephanie would decorate later in the day. It was almost 2 O'clock and he was going to bed. Stephanie was upstairs.

He slipped quietly into the warm bed and instantly pulled his Babe into his arms. Oliver was sitting on the bench at the foot of the bed watching him.

"Ranger," Stephanie's sleepy voice whispered to him.

"I'm home, Babe," kissing the wild curls, her nose, her eyes, ending with Stephanie's lips heating his cold ones. "I saw my light waiting for me."

"All the time," Stephanie was getting out of bed. "I guess I can turn it off."

Ranger shook his head and pulled her back under the blankets, "Leave it on so someone else can find their way home." He gave the candle one last glimpse and the falling snow outside the window before drifting off.

Tonight, he was home where he wanted to be. Oliver purred settling in by their feet contented just like Stephanie and Ranger.

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

_**Light On by David Cook**_

_**Never really said too much**_

_**Afraid it wouldn't be enough**_

_**Just try to keep my spirits up**_

_**When there's no point in grieving**_

_**Doesn't matter anyway**_

_**Words can never make me stay**_

_**Words will never take my place**_

_**When you know I'm leaving**_

_**Try to leave a light on when I'm gone**_

_**Something I rely on to get home**_

_**One I can feel at night, a naked light**_

_**A fire to keep me warm**_

_**Try to leave a light on when I'm gone**_

_**Even in the daylight, shine on**_

_**And when it's late at night you can look inside**_

_**You won't feel so alone**_

_**You know we've been down that road**_

_**What seems a thousand times before**_

_**My back to a closing door**_

_**And my eyes to the seasons**_

_**That roll out underneath my heels**_

_**And you don't know how bad it feels**_

_**To leave the only one**_

_**That I have ever believed in**_

_**Try to leave a light on when I'm gone**_

_**Something I rely on to get home**_

_**One I can feel at night, a naked light**_

_**A fire to keep me warm**_

_**Try to leave a light on when I'm gone**_

_**Even in the daylight, shine on**_

_**And when it's late at night you can look inside**_

_**You won't feel so alone, ooh yeah!**_

_**Sometimes it feels like we've run out of luck**_

_**When the signal keeps on breaking up**_

_**When the wires cross in my brain**_

_**You'll stab my heart again when I come along, yeah**_

_**Try to leave a light on when I'm gone**_

_**Something I rely on to get home**_

_**One I can feel at night, a naked light**_

_**A fire to keep me warm**_

_**Try to leave a light on when I'm gone**_

_**Even in the daylight, shine on**_

_**And when it's late at night you can look inside**_

_**You won't feel so alone**_

_**Try to leave a light on when I'm gone**_

_**Even in the daylight, shine on**_

_**And when it's late at night you can look inside**_

_**You won't feel so alone**_


End file.
